Projector lamp headlight with chromatic aberration correction
First Claim
1. A reduced glare projector style headlight assembly, comprising:
- a light source for projecting visible light;
a reflector adjacent said light source for directing the light in a generally forward path;
an optical lens positioned in said forward path for inverting and manipulating the light into a focused beam pattern;
an opaque mask positioned in a portion of said forward path between said lens and said reflector for creating an upper shadow region in said focused beam pattern to shield on-coming traffic, said mask having a top edge establishing a light-shadow boundary in said focused beam pattern; and
said mask including a transition region proximate said top edge for passing a limited amount of projected light below said top edge whereby traces of projected light are introduced above said light-shadow boundary in said focused beam pattern so that on-coming traffic is not confronted with abrupt changes in light intensity as said light-shadow boundary crosses into and out of view.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A reduced glare projector style headlight assembly (10) comprises a light source (14), a reflector (12) and an optical lens (18). An opaque mask (16) is positioned between the lens (18) and the reflector (12) for creating an upper shadow region in the focused beam pattern (28) to shield on-coming traffic. The mask (16) includes a transition region (32) proximate its top edge (22) for allowing a limited amount of projected light to pass through the mask (16), into the upper shadow region in the focused beam pattern (28). In several embodiments, the mask (16) is applied or otherwise affixed to a transparent substrate (20) which also supports the transition region (32). To combat undesirable chromatic effects, a color filter (38) can be positioned in the light path (26) for disrupting selective wavelengths of light energy. As alternative approaches, the transparent substrate (20) and/or the lens (18′) can be doped with a color filtering material or composition.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A reduced glare projector style headlight assembly, comprising:
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a light source for projecting visible light; a reflector adjacent said light source for directing the light in a generally forward path; an optical lens positioned in said forward path for inverting and manipulating the light into a focused beam pattern; an opaque mask positioned in a portion of said forward path between said lens and said reflector for creating an upper shadow region in said focused beam pattern to shield on-coming traffic, said mask having a top edge establishing a light-shadow boundary in said focused beam pattern; and said mask including a transition region proximate said top edge for passing a limited amount of projected light below said top edge whereby traces of projected light are introduced above said light-shadow boundary in said focused beam pattern so that on-coming traffic is not confronted with abrupt changes in light intensity as said light-shadow boundary crosses into and out of view. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A reduced glare projector style headlight assembly, comprising:
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a light source for projecting visible light; a reflector adjacent said light source for directing the light in a generally forward path; an optical lens positioned in said forward path for inverting and manipulating the light into a focused beam pattern; a color filter positioned in said forward path for disrupting selective wavelengths of light energy; an opaque mask positioned in a portion of said forward path between said lens and said reflector for creating an upper shadow region in said focused beam pattern to shield on-coming traffic, said mask having a top edge establishing a light-shadow boundary in said focused beam pattern; said mask including a transition region adjacent said top edge thereof, said transition region allowing a limited amount of light in said forward path to pass through said mask whereby traces of projected light are introduced above said light-shadow boundary in said focused beam pattern so that on-coming traffic is not confronted with abrupt changes in light intensity as said light-shadow boundary crosses into and out of view.
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20. A reduced glare projector style headlight assembly, comprising:
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a light source for projecting visible light; a reflector adjacent said light source for directing the light in a generally forward path; an optical lens positioned in said forward path for inverting and manipulating the light into a focused beam pattern, said lens containing a color filtering material for disrupting selective wavelengths of light energy in said light path; an opaque mask positioned in a portion of said forward path between said lens and said reflector for creating an upper shadow region in said focused beam pattern to shield on-coming traffic, said mask having a top edge establishing a light-shadow boundary in said focused beam pattern; said mask including a transition region adjacent said top edge thereof, said transition region allowing a limited amount of light in said forward path to pass through said mask whereby traces of projected light are introduced above said light-shadow boundary in said focused beam pattern so that on-coming traffic is not confronted with abrupt changes in light intensity as said light-shadow boundary crosses into and out of view.
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Specification